christianityfandomcom-20200214-history
Hallelujah! (TV series)
Hallelujah! was a British sitcom made by Yorkshire Television for the ITV network and was broadcast from April 1983 to December 1984. The series was set in a Salvation Army citadel in the fictional Yorkshire town of Brigthorpe. Captain Emily Ridley (Thora Hird) has been posted there, having been an active member of the Salvation Army for 42 years. Despite the town and residents being seemingly pleasant, Emily is determined to flush out sin from behind the net curtains. Assisting Emily are her niece Alice Meredith (Patsy Rowlands) and Brig Langton (Michael Aldridge), who made plenty of cameos throughout the show's run. The programme was a repeat collaboration between Hird and the creator Dick Sharples, having worked together on the comedy series In Loving Memory between 1979 and 1986. The show even featured guest appearances from guest stars like Hird's Last of the Summer Wine co-star actor Michael Aldridge and television presenter & Countdown Legend Richard Whiteley. Cast *Thora Hird - Captain Emily Ridley *Patsy Rowlands - Alice Meredith *Rosamund Greenwood - Sister Dorothy Smith (series 1) *David Daker - Brother Benjamin (series 2) *Geoffrey Bayldon - Mr Sedgewick *Michael Aldridge - Brig Langton (series 1) *Garfield Morgan - Brig Langton (series 2) Episodes Series 1 (1983) *Retirement (29 Apr 83) *Repentance (6 May 83) *Counselling (13 May 83) *Poor Box (20 May 83) *Luncheon Club (27 May 83) *Mobile Canteen (3 Jun 83) *Struck Down (10 Jun 83) Series 2 (1984) *Marching Orders (2 Nov 84) *Just A Song At Twilight (9 Nov 09) *Holy Deadlock (16 Nov 84) *The Snake Pit : Part 1 (23 Nov 84) *The Snake Pit : Part 2 (30 Nov 84) *Rock Bottom (7 Dec 84) *It Happened One Night (14 Dec 84) Christmas Special *A Goose For Mrs Scrathit (21 Dec 84) It is unknown why many sources claim that there were three series made. This is in fact not true, there were only two series and one Christmas special shown between 1983 and 1984. See The BRITISH COMEDY WEBSITE The British Comedy Guide: Hallelujah! The sites that list three series may be using working titles in their listings. DVD release DD Home Entertainment (now known as 'Simply Home Entertainment') released series 1 and 2 in 2008. They claimed that series two was complete at first, However, as the Christmas special was not included, they later dropped this claim (the artwork on the cover stayed the same however) The Christmas Special episode, 'A Goose For Mrs. Scratchitt' has been released by Network DVD on a DVD called Classic ITV Christmas Comedy. Hallelujah! has been released in Australia by Acorn Media Australia. Hallelujah! Complete It is a boxset with both series plus the Christmas special. It has been released as an all region DVD (PAL). Notes *Note - The Australian DVD has a bonus - History of The Salvation Army. 1. Lewisohn, Mark. Radio Times Guide to British Comedy p. 292. ISBN 0-563-36977-9 External links * [http://www.sitcom.co.uk/sitcoms/hallelujah.shtml Hallelujah! at the British Sitcom Guide] * * Category:The Salvation Army